The present invention relates to a clipping machine for producing sausage-shaped products.
In particular, the present invention relates to a clipping machine for producing sausage-shaped products, like sausages, by filling a flowable filling material into a tubular or bag-shaped packaging casing and closing said packaging casing by a closure means, like a closure clip. The clipping machine comprises a filling tube for feeding the filling material into the tubular or bag-shaped packaging casing stored on the filling tube and closed at its first end, gathering means for gathering the filled tubular or bag-shaped packaging casing and for forming a plait-like portion thereto, and a clipping device having a first and a second closing tool both reversibly movable between an opened position and a closed position, for applying at least one closure means to the plait-like portion and closing said closure means when the closing tools are in their closed position. Moreover, the clipping device includes a drive means for driving at least the first closing tool.
In practice, it is known that, for example in the production of sausage-shaped products, like sausages, filling material is fed by a filling machine through a filling tube of a clipping machine into a tubular packaging casing which is stored on the filling tube and which is closed at its front end, i.e. the end pointing in the feeding direction of the filling material by a closure means, like a closure clip. The tubular packaging casing is pulled off from the filling tube while being filled by the feeding pressure. After a predetermined volume of filling material has been filled into said tubular packaging casing, a displacer arrangement with a first and a second displacer unit which can each be formed by a pair of reversibly moveable displacement elements shapes a plait-like portion of the tubular packaging casing. The clipping machine then places and closes at least one closure clip at the plait-like portion forming the rear end of the sausage shaped product, i.e. the end pointing against the feeding direction by respective closing tools which are reversibly movable towards the plait-like portion.
For reversibly moving the first and second closing tools between their opened and closed positions, various kinds of drive mechanisms are used. From DE patent 197 38 298, a clipping machine is known, wherein the first and second closing tool, a punch and a die, are mounted to first ends of respective closing levers. Said closing levers are coupled by their second ends to a common pivot axis. For reversibly moving the closing tools between their opened and closed position, in order to place and close a closure clip on the filled and gathered tubular packaging casing, the closing levers are driven by a cam plate.
From DE laid open document 196 44 074, a clipping machine is known, wherein the first and second closing tools are linearly moved between their opened and closed position. The closing tools are driven by respective piston/cylinder drives.
In DE patent 10 2005 029 227, a drive mechanism for a closing tool is disclosed, which includes a toggle joint drive having toggle levers for linearly moving the first closing tool towards the plat-like portion of a packaging casing for closing a closure clip applied thereto.
In particular cases, a linear movement of one or both of the closing tools may be required. The known linear drive mechanisms are of a complex structure, e.g. when using toggle levers, or require a complex control for synchronizing the drives, e.g. in case separate drives for the first and second closing tool. Moreover, these known drives require a lot of space within the housing of the clipping machine.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a clipping machine including a linear drive for at least one of the closing tool, requiring a reduced effort for adjusting and controlling said clipping machine, and having a simplified construction.